Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-China relations after Galwan valley clash
What happened in Galwan?
- The Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
- A sizable number of Chinese Army personnel even transgressed into the Indian side of the de-facto border in several areas including Pangong Tso.
- The actions on the northern bank of Pangong Tso are not just for territorial gains on land, but enhanced domination of the resource-rich lake.
- The stand-off at Ladakh’s Galwan Valley has escalated in June 2020 due to the infrastructure projects that India has undertaken in the recent years. India is building a strategic road through the Galwan Valley – close to China – connecting the region to an airstrip.
- China is opposed to any Indian construction in the area. In 1962, a stand-off in the Galwan area was one of the biggest flashpoints of the 1962 war.
- The border, or Line of Actual Control, is not demarcated, and China and India have differing ideas of where it should be located, leading to regular border “transgressions.” Often these don’t escalate tensions; a serious border standoff like the current one is less frequent, though this is the fourth since 2013.
- Both countries’ troops have patrolled this region for decades, as the contested 2,200-mile border is a long-standing subject of competing claims and tensions, including a brief war in 1962.
- Reasons: The violent clash happened when the Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the LAC and attempted to unilaterally change the status quo.
- It is part of China’s ‘nibble and negotiate policy’. Their aim is to ensure that India does not build infrastructure along the LAC. It is their way of attaining a political goal with military might, while gaining more territory in the process.
The current situation in Ladakh
- With a continued deployment of 50,000-60,000 soldiers, the Indian Army has been able to hold the line to prevent any further ingress by the PLA.
- There has been no progress in talks after the disengagement at Pangong lake and Kailash range in February.
- Outside of Ladakh, the Indian Army remains in an alert mode all along the LAC to prevent any Chinese misadventure but the bigger change has been its reorientation of certain forces from Pakistan border towards the China border.
- The Ladakh crisis has also exposed India’s military weakness to tackle a collusive threat from China and Pakistan.
External balancing
- To deal with the threat of combined China and Pakistan, the Government opened backchannel talks with Pakistan which led to the reiteration of the ceasefire on the Line of Control.
- The Ladakh crisis has also led the Government to relook external partnerships, particularly with the United States.
- The U.S. military officials have earlier spoken of the intelligence and logistics support provided to the Indian forces in Ladakh.
- The military importance of the Quad remains moot, with India reportedly refusing to do joint naval patrolling with the U.S. in the South China Sea, the two treaty allies of the U.S., Japan and Australia, also refused.
Challenges for India
- India attempts to counter the growing Chinese influence in the neighbourhood have faltered, exacerbated by the mishandling of the second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
- With the widening power gap between New Delhi and Beijing, the challenge is as much economic as it is geopolitical.
- Despite the border crisis and the Indian restrictions on Chinese technology companies, China displaced the U.S. to be India’s biggest trade partner in 2020-21, up to nearly 13% of India’s total trade compared to 10.4% a year ago.
- For the past few decades, Indian planners operated on the premise that their diplomats will be able to manage the Chinese problem without it developing into a full-blown military crisis.
- Militarily, Chinese incursions in Ladakh have shown that the idea of deterrence has failed.
- India has learnt that it can no longer have simultaneous competition and cooperation with China.
- A new reset in bilateral ties, àla the early 1990s, is difficult because China is now in a different league, competing with the U.S.
Conclusion
The events of the past one year have significantly altered India’s thinking towards China. The relationship is at the crossroads now. The choices made will have a significant impact on the future of global geopolitics.
B2BASICS
Line of Actual Control
- Demarcation Line: The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
- LAC is different from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan:
- The LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the United Nations (UN) after the Kashmir War.
- It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signed by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement.
- The LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground.
- Length of the LAC: India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G-7
Mains level: Paper 2- Opportunity for India to institutionalise its relations with the West
The article highlights the significance of the recent G-7 summit for India.
India’s engagement with the West
- Two important messages emerge from India’s participation in G-7 with the members of the G-7 and three other invited guests — Australia, South Africa and South Korea.
- First is that India is a “natural ally” of the G-7 and its partners.
- The other is the emphasis on shared democratic values that bind India with the West.
- The two ideas are certainly not new to India’s foreign policy, but they acquire special importance at the current juncture.
- In the last few years, India embarked on an expansive engagement with Europe.
- This G-7 summit can be seen as the beginning of an institutionalisation of India’s cooperation with the West.
What makes this G-7 Summit different from the past Summits?
- China factor: After the 2008 financial crisis, the more representative G-20, which includes China, Russia, India and many others, seemed to supersede the G-7.
- But amidst the growing sense that China has gamed the global economic order to America’s disadvantage, there has been renewed interest in like-minded coalitions like the G-7.
- Widening the base of G-7: There is also the recognition of the case for widening the base of institutions like the G-7 beyond the geographic West to include large democracies like India.
- Coalition of democracies: The case for a “coalition of democracies” was certainly gaining ground over the last two decades within American academia and the political class.
- But economic globalisation and the absence of great power rivalry meant there was no compelling policy urgency to construct an “alliance of democracies”.
- That condition has altered radically in the last few years amidst the growing US tensions with China and Russia.
Dealing with the challenges presented by China
- U.S. President Biden declared his main objective as rallying democracies to meet the great challenges of our time, especially those presented by China.
- G-7 summit has responded to Biden’s call in the following forms:
- 1) By offering the outline of a potential alternative to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
- 2)By calling for a reorientation of global supply chains away from China.
- 3) By demanding a fresh inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in China.
- 4) By reprimanding Beijing policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
- 5) By raising concerns about the conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
- However, there is a strong view that the door must be kept open for engagement with China on issues like climate change while calling out its unacceptable policies.
India’s relations with China: New context for engagement with West
- The rupture in the US engagement with China coincides with the rapid deterioration in India’s relations with China.
- This also sets up a new context for India’s partnership with the West.
- If the Indo-Pacific provides a regional basis for India’s engagement with the US and Europe, mitigating climate change and the management of the Covid-19 pandemic provides a global template for India’s engagement with the West.
Way forward
- The case for renewal and reform of democratic institutions is urgent in both the US and India.
- So is the need for sustained consultations between India and its Western partners on a range of new challenges presented by digital technologies, including radicalisation, disinformation, electoral interference, cyber-attacks and the role of large social media companies.
- The statement on open societies provides a sound basis for such an engagement.
Conclusion
India must begin institutionalisation of its relationship with the West and increase its engagement on various common issues including the China challenge.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Debate over 50% cap of reservations
The Supreme Court last month quashed Maharashtra’s review petition challenging its earlier verdict that scrapped a quota for OBCs in the state’s local bodies, triggering a war of words between the ruling and opposition parties.
What is the OBC reservation in local bodies?
- The Maharashtra government set up a 27 percent quota in local bodies for OBCs in 1994.
- The 27 percent reservation was applicable to all urban (Municipal Corporations, Councils and Nagar Panchayat) and rural bodies (Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat) across the state.
- In Maharashtra, the OBCs include the Denotified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category.
- This quota for OBCs increased their representation in rural and urban local bodies.
What is the history of the demand for an OBC census in Maharashtra?
- As per the Mandal Commission report, the last caste-wise census was conducted in 1931 and it was later discontinued.
- Based on the data from the 1931 census, the Mandal commission worked out the OBC population to be 52 per cent and recommended a 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in view of the SC judgment limiting reservation up to 50 per cent.
- There was already a 22.5 per cent reservation for SC and ST categories.
- The Mandal Commission report recommended 27 per cent reservation in government jobs and promotions along with others.
- The report gave momentum to OBC leaders and the community’s demand for a caste-wise census of OBC.
Need for a caste-wise census
- The 2011 census included data about the socio-economic caste census but has not released the data citing the errors in it.
- In 2018, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls the following year, the Centre announced that OBC enumeration will be done in the 2021 census.
- But this promise could not be tested with the onset of the pandemic and the indefinite delay in population enumeration.
- OBC leaders fear the OBC enumeration may never actually happen.
How did the matter reach the SC?
- The quota was exceeding the 50 per cent limit which is contrary to SC 2010 judgment of K Krishna Murthy (Dr.) and Ors. vs. Union of India and others.
- The court granted the status quo and the elections were delayed.
- On March 4 this year, The SC read it down in stating that it may be invoked only upon complying with the triple conditions before notifying the seats reserved for OBC category in the concerned local bodies.
- The triple conditions included setting up “a dedicated Commission to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua local bodies, within the State”.
- This was to specify the proportion of reservations required to be provisioned local body-wise in light of recommendations of the commission.
- It also stated that such reservation, in any case, shall not exceed the aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats reserved in favour of SCs, STs and OBCs taken together.
- The apex court observed the reservation for OBCs is only “statutory”, to be provided by the state legislations, unlike the “constitutional” reservation regarding SCs/STs which is linked to the proportion of the population.
What do OBC leaders say now?
- There has been a mixed response from the OBC leaders to the SC verdict, with some welcoming it while others lamenting on losing reservation.
- Some say it will pave the way for conducting the OBC census in the state.
- So far, there was no data about the OBC population and our demand for the OBC census for the last 30 years have fallen on deaf ears.
- With this SC order, the state has to conduct the census now.
- Else, there will be no OBC reservation in the local bodies polls and the ruling parties will have to pay a huge price for it.
What lies ahead?
- The SC judgment is applicable to the elections of all local bodies — rural and urban.
- As per a statement from the CM’s office, the SC verdict is likely to impact around 56,000 seats in all local bodies in the state.
- This includes polls pending due to Covid and the upcoming elections.
- So, the state election commission will consult with the state government whenever the local bodies’ polls are held and will decide on the OBC reservation as per the SC order.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OMSS Scheme
Mains level: Schemes related to food security
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court regarding the purchase of grains by the States and the UTs under the Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS) in 2021-2022 while debunking apprehensions that those without ration cards may be left to die.
Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS)
- OMSS refers to the selling of food grains by the government/government agencies at predetermined prices in the open market from time to time.
- This scheme aims to enhance the supply of grains especially during the lean season and thereby to moderate the general open market prices, especially in the deficit regions.
- The Food Corporation of India (FCI) on the instructions from the Government, sells wheat and rice in the open market from time to time.
- This enhances the supply of wheat and rice especially during the lean season and moderates the open market prices, especially in the deficit regions.
Components of the scheme
The present form of OMSS comprises 3 schemes as under:
- Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction.
- Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction by dedicated movement.
- Sale of Raw Rice Grade ‘A’ to bulk consumers/private traders through e-auction.
Selling through a transparent process
- For transparency in operations, the Corporation has switched over to e-auction for sale under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic).
- The FCI conducts a weekly auction to conduct this scheme in the open market using the platform of commodity exchange NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited).
- The State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations are also allowed to participate in the e-auction if they require wheat and rice outside TPDS & OWS.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.The economic cost of food grains to the Food Corporation of India is Minimum Support Price and bonus (if any) paid to the farmers plus:
(a) Transportation cost only
(b) Interest cost only
(c) Procurement incidentals and distribution cost
(d) Procurement incidentals and charges for godowns
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: New Shephard
Mains level: Space tourism
Last week, Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space company called Blue Origin concluded the online auction for the first seat on New Shephard, a rocket system meant to take tourists to space.
What is New Shephard?
- New Shephard has been named after astronaut Alan Shephard – the first American to go to space – and offers flights to space over 100 km above the Earth and accommodation for payloads.
- Essentially, it is a rocket system that has been designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Karman line – the internationally recognized boundary of space.
- The idea is to provide easier and more cost-effective access to space meant for purposes such as academic research, corporate technology development, and entrepreneurial ventures among others.
- Apart from its academic and research-oriented goal, New Shephard will also allow space tourists to experience microgravity by taking them 100 km above the Earth.
Its components
- The rocket system consists of two parts, the cabin or capsule, and the rocket or the booster.
- The cabin can accommodate experiments from small Mini Payloads up to 100 kg.
- As per Blue Origin, the Mini Payloads provide easier space access to students, who are part of educational institutions that are developing their own space programs.
- Further, the cabin is designed for six people and sits atop a 60 feet tall rocket and separates from it before crossing the Karman line, after which both vehicles fall back to the Earth.
- All the six seats in the capsule are meant for passengers, each of whom gets their own window seat. The capsule is fully autonomous and does not require a pilot.
How does it work?
- The system is a fully reusable, vertical takeoff and vertical landing space vehicle that accelerates for about 2.5 minutes before the engine cuts off.
- After separating from the booster, the capsule free falls in space, while the booster performs an autonomously controlled vertical landing back to Earth.
- The capsule, on the other hand, lands back with the help of parachutes.
A boost for space tourism
- Space tourism seeks to give laypeople the ability to go to space for recreational, leisure, or business purposes.
- The idea is to make space more accessible to those individuals who are not astronauts and want to go to space for non-scientific purposes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Eight Schedule Languages
Mains level: Not Much
Various organizations have initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and received an overwhelming response.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Consider the following languages:
- Gujarati
- Kannada
- Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as ‘Classical Language / Languages’ by the Government?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Who all speak Tulu in India now and what is its history?
- Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in two coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
- As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 Tulu-speaking people in India. Some scholars suggest Tulu is among the earliest Dravidian languages with a history of 2000 years.
- Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), in his book, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages, called Tulu “one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family”.
So what exactly is the demand by Tulu speakers?
- The Tulu speakers, mainly in Karnataka and Kerala, have been requesting the governments to give it official language status and include it in the eighth schedule to the Constitution.
- Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri are the 22 languages presently in the eighth schedule.
Tulu art, culture and cinema
- Tulu has a rich oral literature tradition with folk-song forms like paddana, and traditional folk theatre yakshagana.
- Tulu also has an active tradition of cinema with around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year.
- Tulu films are being screened every day in Mangaluru and Udupi in at least one theatre.
What is the present status of Tulu?
- According to Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy president Dayananda G Kathalsar,
- People who speak Tulu are confined to the above-mentioned regions of Karnataka and Kerala, informally known as Tulu Nadu.
- At present, Tulu is not an official language in the country.
- Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
- If included in the eighth schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.
Back2Basics: Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution
- The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
- At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
- This language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
- The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
- In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
- As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the 22 languages.
‘Classical’ languages in India
Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
How are they classified?
According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
- The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
- The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Southern Ocean
Mains level: NA
The National Geographic magazine has recognized the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean June 8, 2021 hoping others will soon follow suit.
Answer this PYQ from CSP 2019 in the comment box:
Q.The most important fishing grounds of the world are found in the regions where:
(a) warm and cold atmospheric currents meet
(b) rivers drain out large amounts of freshwater into the sea
(c) warm and cold oceanic currents meet
(d) continental shelf is undulating
Southern Ocean
- The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.
- As such, it is regarded as the second-smallest of the five principal oceanic divisions: smaller than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans but larger than the Arctic Ocean.
- Over the past 30 years, the Southern Ocean has been subject to rapid climate change, which has led to changes in the marine ecosystem.
What has NatGeo attempted?
- The magazine says the Southern Ocean is the only ocean ‘to touch three other oceans and to completely embrace a continent rather than being embraced by them’.
- Its northern limit is a latitude of 60 degrees south.
- It is also defined by its Antarctic Circumpolar Current that was formed 34 million years ago. The current flows from west to east around Antarctica.
- The Southern Ocean is home to large populations of whales, penguins, and seals.
Why such a move?
- Usually, the magazine has followed the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) on marine names, it said in an article notifying the change.
- The IHO too had recognized ‘Southern Ocean’ as a distinct body of water surrounding Antarctica in 1937 but had repealed the same in 1953.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM)
Mains level: Indian Monsoon
The Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) continues to pass through Diu, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhopal, Nowgong, Hamirpur, Barabanki, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Ambala & Amritsar.
Try this question from CS Mains 2017:
Q.What characteristics can be assigned to monsoon climate that succeeds in feeding more than 50 percent of the won population residing in Monsoon Asia?
What is the Northern Limit of Monsoon?
- NLM, is the northernmost boundary of India up to which monsoon rains have advanced on any given day.
- So, it is a way of tracking the progress of monsoon clouds as they move over India’s landmass.
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) adds that the monsoon “advances northwards, usually in surges, and covers the entire country around July 15″.
What are the Eastern and Western Arms?
- It is the mountains of southern India that split the south-western winds, giving the Indian monsoon its ‘two arms.
- The western arm of the monsoon is deflected northwards, by the Western Ghats, to (Mumbai) and then on to Pakistan.
- The eastern arm travels up through the Bay of Bengal to (Kolkata) and Assam and is deflected north-westwards by the Himalayas.
Also refer this link:
Explain the formation of Indian monsoons. Highlight the link between monsoons and India’s cropping pattern. (15 marks)
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